This invention relates generally to beds and more particularly, to improvements to beds having massage motors.
Adjustable beds were originally designed principally for use by patients who had to spend long periods of time in bed for reasons of health, injury, etc. However, more recently, adjustable beds are being used in residential environments by users who have no health or physical impairment. An increasing number of people place televisions and other entertainment devices in the bedroom, and more time is spent lounging in bed. Hence, the bed, and in particular, an adjustable bed, is considered by many users an alternative piece of leisure furniture.
One recent development in adjustable beds is the development of a xe2x80x9cwallhuggerxe2x80x9d adjustable bed. The wallhugger adjustable bed maintains the user in the same position with respect to adjacent appliances and furniture as the head portion of the bed is moved between flat and elevated positions. As the market for leisure beds grows, there is a continuing effort by suppliers to provide leisure beds that are more comfortable, have more options, for example, massage capabilities, more sophisticated controls, and are more affordable.
Almost all adjustable beds utilize one or more massage motors which are controllable by a user to provide a massaging action to the user. In one embodiment, a massage motor is rigidly connected to an underside of a rigid platform, for example, a head board or a foot board, that is hinged to a center board or platform. Further, the whole articulated platform normally supports a mattress base, for example, a foam pad, over which is placed a mattress. Thus, any vibration applied to the underside of the head board must vibrate the whole head board; and further, the vibration is partially absorbed and attenuated by the soft materials in the mattress base and the mattress. The resulting or net vibration applied to a user lying on the mattress is often substantially less than desired. Further, with such a massage motor mounting, the noise caused by the massage motor operation can be objectionable.
In other designs, the mattress base is a foam pad approximately 4 inches thick; and the massage motor is inserted into a slit, so that it is fully contained within the mattress base. While such a design is relatively quiet, the massage action of the massage motor is attenuated by the relatively thick foam of the mattress base.
Thus, there is a need for an improved structure for more effectively mounting a massage motor that provides a more desirable and penetrating massaging action to a user lying on the bed.
The present invention provides a bed having a quieter operation and an improved massage capability, thereby increasing the satisfaction of the user with the bed. The massage motor mounting of the present invention is especially useful on beds having a relatively thin mattress base. Further, the massage motor mounting of the present invention is less expensive than known massage motor mountings for beds having a thin mattress base.
According to the principles of the present invention and in accordance with one embodiment, the present invention provides an adjustable bed having a bed frame and a center support section supported by the bed frame. A second support section has one end pivotally attached to one end of the center support section, and the second support section has an opening therethrough. A massage motor assembly has a housing mounted to the second support section over the opening. A massage motor is disposed in the housing, and a resilient material is disposed in the housing between the massage motor and the housing.
Enclosing the massage motor with the resilient material substantially reduces the operational noise of the massage motor. Further, the massage motor is able to move in its orbital motion within the housing and into the opening in the second support section, thereby imparting an effective massage action to the user. In addition, the mounting of the massage motor assembly does not in any way adversely impact the feel of the bed to a very heavy user.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the resilient material is a flexible foam material which adds very little cost to the massage motor assembly.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein.